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REPORT IDENTIFIES OVER 2,000 STATE RULES AND REGULATIONS THAT WARRANT REFORM OR REVIEW

ALBANY – The New York State Senate Majority Coalition issued a comprehensive report today that sheds light on New York State’s notoriously dense regulatory structure and identifies 2,219 specific rules, regulations and practices that put New York’s businesses at a competitive disadvantage.

“Governor Cuomo used this year’s State of the State message to reinforce the need for New York State to stay the course in terms of fiscal responsibility and restraint; I am excited to join with him to keep the Empire State on its new found path.

I am specifically encouraged that the Governor took the time to outline a series of proposals to address New York’s still stagnated economy, particular in Upstate and Western New York. Two items are chiefly responsible for New York’s reputation as hostile to business, high taxes and a byzantine regulatory structure than punishes business owners and entrepreneurs rather than encourage their growth.

ERIE COUNTY - Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma) is joining with Sunnking Electronics Recycling, Time Warner Cable and the East Aurora Rotary to host a free electronics recycling event Saturday, January 11th, at the Nativity Lutheran Church, 970 E. Main Street in East Aurora from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

“We all use electronics on a daily basis, and as technology progresses, we are replacing electronics more and more often. Many people do not realize that cell phones, laptops and other electronic items contain materials that can be hazardous to the environment,” said Senator Gallivan. “This e-waste recycling event provides a perfect opportunity for people to quickly and conveniently drop off their used and out-dated electronics to be properly recycled and disposed of.”

ERIE COUNTY - Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma) was joined by several of his Western New York senate colleagues today in calling for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to again reconsider the closing of the Western New York Children’s Psychiatric Center in West Seneca and relocating its patients to the Buffalo Psychiatric Center in North Buffalo.

“Concerns have been raised across the state about closing and consolidating specialized mental health facilities and in recent weeks we have seen the Governor address those concerns in the Southern Tier and the North Country. I am now calling on him to take a closer look at our facility in West Seneca and to again consider the negative impact its closure could have on the very unique patients it serves – children,” Gallivan said.

With hunting season underway, I am interested in your input on a public policy issue that you may find interesting. According to the NYS Whitetail Management Coalition, typically 60-85% of the male deer harvested in New York each year are 1.5 years old or younger. New York State has one of the highest harvest rates of immature deer. In an effort to change this, over the last decade, certain regions of New York have experimented with an antler restriction requiring a minimum of three points on one side.

WEST SENECA - Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma) presented a donation of $1,072 this week on behalf of Sunnking, Inc. to ‘East Leads, a student leadership organization at West Seneca East High School, for their participation in an electronic waste recycling event held in partnership with Senator Gallivan’s office last June.

Members of Senator Gallivan’s staff and student volunteers from ‘East Leads joined with professionals from Sunnking, Inc. to collect and safely dispose of over 100,000 pounds of old, outdated or damaged electronic equipment in just five hours.

Former State Trooper, Senator Gallivan Mourns The News Of Trooper Ross Riley's Passing

"From the day a trooper is sworn in and dons the gray uniform and stetson, they, and their loved ones, become life members of the New York State law enforcement family. Today we mourn the tragic news that a member of that family, Trooper Ross Riley, has perished during a training exercise in Letchworth State Park. My heart and my prayers go out to the Riley family, to those who served with Trooper Riley and the entire law enforcement community across the state of New York."

Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma) sponsored legislation today to freeze New York State’s plan to close psychiatric health centers across the state, including the Western New York Children’s Psychiatric Center in the Town of West Seneca.

Gallivan is the third senator to sponsor the “Freeze Unsafe Closures Now Act” (S.5986), which places a moratorium on closing the Western New York Children’s Psychiatric Center in West Seneca and all targeted facilities until April 1, 2015, providing lawmakers, the executive and mental health experts time to devise a plan that is more responsive to the needs and challenges of Western New York’s mentally ill.

Span of Route 20A Will Connect At County Line With Wyoming County Veterans Memorial Highway

Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R,C,I - 59th District) applauded Governor Cuomo today for taking time over the Veterans Day Weekend to sign legislation (S.4752 - Gallivan) designating a stretch of Route 20A as the "Livingston County Veterans Memorial Highway." The portion to be designated begins at I-390 and runs west to the Livingston County line, where it meets with a portion of Route 20A in Wyoming County already designated as the Wyoming County Veterans Memorial Highway.

New York State Sen. Patrick M. Gallivan (R-Elma), Deputy Republican Conference Leader for Economic Development, announced today that he is partnering with the Lancaster Area Chamber of Commerce to host a Small Business Summit for business owners, not-for-profits and entrepreneurs from Lancaster and surrounding communities.

The seminar will take place on Thursday, December 5th from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM at the headquarters of Try-It Distributing, 4155 Walden Avenue in Lancaster.

The program will feature an update on small business and economic growth initiatives being undertaken by Senator Gallivan in Albany and a presentation by professional business development consultant Frank Swiatek entitled “What Businesses Can Do For Themselves.”

Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma) announced today that he is sponsoring legislation aimed at addressing the alleged pay-to-play culture that exists between private contractors vying for procurement and service contracts and state government. “New Yorkers deserve a state government they can trust and one that strives to serve the people, not secondary interests,” said Gallivan. “This bill will help ensure that companies receiving contracts for public works are being awarded based on their ability to do the job effectively and efficiently on behalf of the taxpayers, not as part of any quid-pro-quo.”

EAST AURORA - Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R-C-I, Elma) joined with the Greater East Aurora Chamber of Commerce Tuesday morning to host a small business seminar and networking event at the Gleed Auditorium at the Aurora Town Hall.

Nearly 30 local businesses from East Aurora and surrounding communities took part in the ninety minute session that featured presentations from Sen. Gallivan and business development and marketing consultant Frank Swiatek.

Senator Patrick M. Gallivan has again been named to the New York Farm Bureau’s Circle of Friends, reflecting his record of advocacy and accomplishment on behalf of New York State’s farmers, farms and farming communities.

“Agriculture is the lifeblood of the upstate and western New York economy and an integral part of our regional identity,” Gallivan said. “Since my first day in the Senate I have worked to advance policy and legislative initiatives that recognize the enormous potential for agriculture based economic development in western New York. I thank the Farm Bureau for this honor and look forward to continued progress.”

Like everything in the United States, drug use and abuse has evolved alongside the ebb and flow of larger American culture. The sixties and seventies saw the rise in recreational use of marihuana and psychedelics like LSD. Later cocaine become a popular substance of choice, and along with it, the development of crack cocaine – a compound so addictive and destructive that many communities are still struggling to recover from the crack epidemic of the late eighties and early nineties that devastated neighborhoods and urban centers across the country. More recently, we have experienced an increase in heroin and synthetic opioid use along with designer drugs like ecstasy and methamphetamine.